No Regrets
by Spirit Seer
Summary: "Ow!" Cornet dropped her pack when pain exploded along her hairline. When the pain faded, she realized that her heavy pack had caught her braid. Hm. That was going to be problem, but how could she fix it? Pre-journey one-shot.


Disclaimer: _Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure_ belongs to Atlus and its respective owners. I own this humble fanfiction.

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 **No Regrets**

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Cornet checked her pack again. Spare set of clothing, ointment, bandages, cooking ware... She sat down with a sigh. Who knew that packing for a long trip required so much? She wasn't sure if she could pack it all, much less carry it all!

She threw on her jacket and then swung her heavy pack onto her shoulders. Pain exploded upon her hairline. _"Ow!"_

The pack dropped to the floor with a loud _thud_. "Ow…" Cornet moaned again, rubbing her aching head. "What just happened?" She looked at the large pack on the floor and then at her long braid. Oh.

Her hair had been caught between the strap of her pack and her shoulder.

"Cornet, are you all right?" Kururu asked, hovering in the doorway. "I thought I heard you yell."

Cornet looked up at the fairy puppet that was hovering in the doorway. "It's all right, Kururu. My hair just got caught when I tried to put on my backpack."

"Oh, okay." Kururu flew over to the pack. "Yeah, that is large and heavy. It's no wonder that it got caught, with how long your hair is. You're going to have to be careful when we're traveling, or I'm going to hear you scream a lot."

"Hey—!"

Cornet huffed as Kururu giggled and flew over to the pack, checking to ensure that nothing had been forgotten. Cornet folder her arms across her chest as she watched Kururu, her brows furrowing together. The little puppet might have a sharp tongue, but she was correct.

Cornet's long hair—even contained in her usual braid—was going to be a problem on a long journey. She reached up and held the end of her braid in her right hand, studying the wheat-colored strands. Now that she was looking up close, she could see the split-ends.

But her hair was long and straight, and Cornet loved every inch of it. Her prince had even complimented it, had said that it was a nice length and a pleasant color. Her grandpa and Kururu had always said that it looked pretty hanging down in a long braid.

She loved her long hair.

But on a long trip like this… if she couldn't even put on her pack without it catching her hair, pulling it with a painful yank that was enough to make her yelp, how could she travel? Her trip would be long and difficult enough without her having to watch out for long hair…

Kururu looked up from where she was packing away extra food in the front pocket. "Hey, Cornet, did you forget something?"

Cornet nodded silently, almost absentmindedly, without looking Kururu. She took a deep breath, and then she walked over to the cabinet.

Kururu closed the front pocket, watching Cornet apprehensively. "Um, Cornet, what are you doing?"

Cornet opened up the cabinet door and pulled something out, but Kururu couldn't see what from her angle. "Cornet?" she asked again.

Cornet closed the door, looking away. "I'm…" She looked down. "I'm sorry, Kururu."

Kururu raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sorry for what?"

Cornet looked over with a sad smile. For the first time, Kururu could see that Cornet was holding her small knife.

"I'm sorry, Kururu," Cornet repeated. She looked down, and the knife blade glinted in her hand. Her breath quickened. "I—I know that you love my hair, Kururu—I love it, too—but it's going to be a—a liability on our journey."

Kururu's eyes widened. "Wait, you're not—"

In one smooth motion, Cornet grasped her braid and sliced it off at the base. The free strands fell loosely about her shoulders.

Kururu sighed. There went Cornet's lovely, long hair. She was going to miss it. "I guess I should have seen that one coming." She flew over and hovered by Cornet's head, pulling the loose strands toward her with her tiny hands. "Let me inspect the damage."

Cornet's racing heart had begun to slow until she felt the weight removed from her head. "Wait, um—does it look terrible, Kururu?"

Kururu huffed into Cornet's ear, exclaiming, "You're seriously asking that question _now_?!"

Cornet winced. "You don't have to yell into my ear…" she muttered.

Kururu sighed, deciding to focus on the immediate problem. "No, it doesn't look terrible, Cornet. You actually managed a fairly even cut. I'm impressed." She released the strands and gestured to the opposite wall. "Go look in the mirror."

Cornet stepped away from Kururu, stopping in front of the small mirror. Her concerned face, green eyes partially widened, stared back at her. Her new loose strands framed her face and made her look older. Without her braided hair, her face didn't look so round, either. In addition with her travel outfit… "I almost don't recognize myself," she murmured.

"I almost don't recognize you," Kururu said. "But you look grown up, actually. Are you ready to go rescue your prince now?"

Cornet stared at her reflection in the mirror for another moment. It was almost like she was staring at a different person. Her long hair was gone… Her long hair was gone, now cut and hanging loosely in her hand. She had loved her long hair… Her heart ached.

Cornet's vision blurred. She took a deep breath, forcing the tears back. She was about to embark on a journey to rescue her prince. She couldn't start it off by crying in regret for her hair.

She dropped the braid to the floor. She walked to her pack and placed it on her shoulders, noting that it didn't catch her hair this time.

That was good. That was why she had done it. And the act was done. So there was no use spending more time to mourn over it. It was done.

At least, that was what she told herself.

Cornet took another deep breath, turned to the fairy puppet, and said, "I'm ready now, Kururu. Let's go rescue my prince."

Kururu smiled softly. "Now you're talking." She led the charge out of the door.

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A/N: Just a short drabble. The official artwork shows Cornet both with short hair but the art that you can find in the game shows Cornet with long hair. If I remember correctly, the long hair was in a braid prior to the journey, but Cornet in her travel outfit has short hair. I wondered if she had cut it prior to the journey, and this was born. (But if my memory is wrong, I hope that you had some enjoyment from this anyway.)


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